I suppose I ought to tie this back to anime, and there are plenty of examples.

One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, Fairy Tail…the phrase “never-ending shounen” came into existence for a reason, people.

I usually drink and curse a lot too, but that just comes with the Stilts package.

And don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with a long story.

Though I don’t read it myself, I don’t often hear people complain about One Piece’s length, and Naruto appears to be drawing towards some sort of conclusion (maybe, eventually).

While some individual stories have been great—and rightfully came to an end, I might add—by and large Batman, and Superman, and Wonder Woman, and every major American comic book superhero franchise I can think of, are giant flaming examples of How Not To Do It.

They are zombie franchises, endlessly resurrected every time some executive wants another money piñata to smack around until the riches fall out.

This seemed eminently reasonable to me, almost as much as it was completely and utterly misguided.

Compare Nolan’s Batman trilogy to…well, everything else that has been done with the character ever.

More storytellers should take note of what was done there, because it was done well.

Other examples: Puella Magi Madoka Magica comes to mind, as does Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, but honestly, I’m just cheating by throwing out such obvious ones.

I write this after having finally seen The Dark Knight Rises, over a month and a half after its release. Yet, as good stories are apt to do, it has put me in a writing mood, so it’s time to get these thoughts down before they melt away.

This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for some time, and I’ve saved its release until the end of this season because that’s the only time it could come out.